Faceless Catalyst (Preview)
by DarkHorrorTech
Summary: Do you believe in ghosts?Well Dante Ontario, a reporter, did not.Until he arrived at the house of Kate e house of a person that went missing a couple months d this is his terrifying story into the unknown.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Dante Ontario woke in his apartment bed sweating slightly. He turned toward his alarm clock which was blaring loudly. Dante pressed snooze and the blaring stopped. He sat up on his bed and stretched his arms, yawning.

The clock read: stood up and pulled on his jeans. On the coat rack was his black Ultra Track Jacket. Dante slipped on his shoes and tied a double knot. Afterward he pulled on his jacket and zipped it up.

Dante looked in the mirror and saw himself 's hair was black and skin was dark but not too dark, and his eyes were dark eyes were wet with had a big day ahead of , his partner, was going to join him.

Franklin had known Franklin since he was were friends through high school and became a reporter and Franklin became one both lived good lives and thought nothing would ever go wrong in his life.

Until today.

On the table sat his car keys and phone. Dante took a Clif Bar from the cabinet and pulled off the munching hungrily at the bar he picked up his keys and phone and opened his front door.

He closed the front door and locked it behind him. The door gave a satisfying click and Dante began walking down the stairs. The air was chilly outside as if with a sense of Dante took no notice.

Dante spotted his white Ford Focus and unlocked it. Dante opened the door and sat pushed the key into the ignition and the engine started. Then Dante closed the car door and pulled out of the parking lot, getting onto the highway.

Dante felt his phone vibrate and he took it out. He had a incoming call. Dante answered it and said, "Hello?"

"Hey it's me Franklin, i'm at the property but it is very big. We are allowed to stay at the house for a couple days, the authorities were reluctant but they came around in the end."

" Kay man see you there, i'm on my way now." Dante answered.

"Yeah my car is at the entrance to the side road leading to the property." Franklin said.

"See you there."

"Yeah."

Dante hung up and put the phone back in his pocket. Dante and Franklin were in an investigation together to explain the disappearances of two people. A young boy named,Charlie Matheson and Kate Hayes. There was a rumor going around that Kate's friends,CR and Lauren, went missing as well.

The last known location of the both of them was on that the authorities have not announced a missing persons file for either of them. Kate Hayes was last known to be taking therapy because she was having random episodes.

The therapist said she kept coming back saying that a "thin man" was stalking the therapist assumed that Kate was hallucinating due to the fact that she claimed he had no face. And also that the young boy Charlie was turned animalistic and hostile.

Police had come to the conclusion that she was mentally unstable ,until she leaving any record.

Charlie Matheson however was found missing by his parents when they couldn't find him around Oakside Park. And there had been rumored to have been many disappearances around that area.

Charlie's parents called out for him to come back for lunch but couldn't find parents said they heard screaming but they didn't know if it was Charlie. After searching for hours they couldn't find their son.

The parents called the authorities and the parents were said the boy had been having dreams of this "tall, thin, figure" and that he was drawing weird symbols on the walls, with words that made them take the plan to send him to therapy.

The boy kept drawing the same symbol, a circle with an "x" through boy claimed the "thin man" was coming for him. And then it all but stopped until Charlie's disappearance.

Then Charlie was not mentioned again until Kate's trip to the therapist.

It was Dante and Franklin's job to find some answers to bring clarity to Charlie's family. There had also been a rumor that Lauren and Kate were both seen entering the Koleman Mine on the edge of Oakside park.

Then there was the fire surrounding the radio tower just up the mountain from the Koleman Mine. There were tapes confiscated from a building in between the Koleman Mine and the radio tower,but also police discovered a torn teddy bear just outside the Koleman Mine.

The parents of Charlie Matheson claimed that it was the bear of that belonged to their son. The tapes held the fingerprints of CR,Kate,and Lauren. The scattered torches across the Oakside Park and the mountain outside Koleman mine held the fingerprints of Kate Hayes, as if she was leaving a trail for someone to follow her.

Dante and Franklin wanted to find more evidence to find a new conclusion on the case.

As Dante pulled up to the dirt road after a two hour drive, he spotted Franklin waiting at his car holding a suitcase.

Dante parked his car next to Franklin's and got out.

"It's about time!" Franklin said, his black hair waving up and 's eyes were green and had a small beard that matched his looked at him expectantly for an explanation.

"Sorry, this is a hard place to find." Dante said.

"Maybe that is why Kate Hayes lived here."

"Maybe."


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The House of Kate Hayes

After arriving at the house Dante and Franklin opened the door. The door creaked with strain as it swung forward. Franklin dropped his suitcase and unpacked the camera.

Franklin turned on the camcorder and pushed record.

"We have now arrived at the Kate Hayes house, Kate Hayes was one of the people who disappeared a couple months the wall here there are these odd depictions." Dante explained, pointing at the drawings on the walls.

Dante led the camera up the stairs and into the hallway and said, "This is the last known location of Kate Hayes, beside a sighting near the Koleman Mine, but we will go there later."

They entered the bedroom at the end of the hall and Dante continued, "Now this is where it gets interesting, when authorities arrived at this location they gathered hundreds of papers with odd drawings and words on them."

The room was now completely cleaned out, except for the bed and the desk, and all of the furniture. There was only one thing they couldn't remove, "On this wall the words 'Can you see it?' are traced, and outside the window next to it there is a clear shot of the radio tower, that was

surrounded by a freak wildfire that burned down acres of trees, about three weeks ago."

Then the LCD screen rolled with static, and Franklin raised his hand beckoning Dante over.

"What's wrong?" Dante asked

"I don't know, it just happened." Franklin answered.

Then Dante looked up and saw something out the window.

Dante rushed to the window and saw a man out on the lawn.

"Hey,you aren't supposed to be here!" Dante yelled.

The man just stood there and said nothing.

"Did you hear me?"

"Of course he did, he is just being stubborn," said Franklin, "Hey get out of here stiff!"

Still he didn't move.

Franklin and Dante stood there for an hour trying to convince him to leave, but still did not get an answer.

"That's it." Franklin said angrily.

Dante turned to see Franklin digging through his bag.

"What are you doing?" Dante asked.

"Convincing him." Franklin said.

Franklin took a revolver out of the bag and went to the window.

The man was still there.

Franklin pointed the revolver.

"No!" Dante yelled.

"I'm not gonna shoot him." Franklin whispered.

The man tilted his head as if confused.

"Yeah that is right, i will shoot you!" Franklin yelled, "Now scoot you stiff."

The man tipped his head back up and faced Franklin.

Then all of a sudden Franklin yelled in pain, and crumpled.

"Franklin, what's wrong?" Dante gasped.

"Always watches, no eyes!" Franklin stammered in fear.

"What?" Dante asked.

"Always watches no eyes!" Franklin repeated.

"Snap out of it Franklin!" Dante yelled.

But after many failed attempts he couldn't get him to stop yelling that.

Dante stood and looked out the window at the man. "What did you do to him you freak?"

The man just stood there and tipped his head again as if confused.

Dante was growing tired of this, he yelled, "Get out of here now, or I will call the police!"

Then he heard a voice in his head say, "How?"

"You apparently live in the stone age, but i live in the twenty first century!" Dante sneered.

Dante pulled his phone from his pocket and opened it to the screen was rolling with static and the buttons wouldn't work.

Dante looked up and yelled, "Okay stop what you are doing now or I will shoot you."

The man looked at him.

"How?"

Dante turned and went to pick up the gun, but it wasn't there.

Dante went back to the window and saw the gun laying in the yard next to the man.

"You are looking for Lauren, yesss?" asked the voice in his head.

"Yeah, where is she?" Dante demanded.

"Ssstop looking."

"Why should I listen to you?"

"Do you want the sssame punishment as her and CR?"

"You know CR?"

"Yesss"

"What about Charlie?"

"How do you know of Charlie?"

"We are looking for him."

"Well, good luck."

"Good luck?"

"He wantssss to sssstay with me, not you or hissss parentssss."

"You give them back now!"

"Kate doessss too."

"What about Lauren and CR?"

"They payed the price for their interference."

"You killed them?"

"I regret it..."

"Who are you?"

There was no reply, and then Dante's head seared with pain and he thought he was going to go crazy like Franklin when it ended.

When Dante stood shakily, the man was gone, Franklin was passed out, and the gun was back on the floor. The world spun like a top and Dante fell to the floor out cold.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Awakening

The sunlight awoke sat up to see Franklin shook Franklin's shoulder and he woke.

"What happened?" Franklin asked

"You don't remember what happened?" Dante questioned

"I remember that guy, and then my head hurt, and then nothing."

Dante explained what happened to Franklin and how a voice in his head spoke as if the man was talking in his mind and how CR and Lauren are dead according to the man.

"That is impossible, how can he speak in your mind?" Franklin demanded

"I don't know, but it felt like there was a presence in my mind." Dante answered

"Well...what do we do now?"

"I want to find out what happened to Kate and Charlie and who that man is."

"...I don't know..."

"We have a job to do, and we are finishing it."

"Fine, at least let me take my gun."

"That is probably a good idea, considering the situation."

They walked out of the room after picking up the searched the rooms for anything they could find concerning Charlie Matheson,Kate Hayes, or Lauren or CR.

Dante found a little white board that had a list of last of which was a thought popped into Dante's the fire have been man made, or woman made?

Then Dante thought, that is why Kate must have been going through the mine, to find an easier way to the top of the Lauren must have been searching for her.

Then again, Kate was crazy, it would have been more likely that she did it unless Lauren for some reason did it.

Dante highly doubted it,but it was a possible was only one way to know for had to talk to Lauren, but the man said she was Kate or CR knew what happened.

Then there was Charlie, Kate had claimed he was animalistic, then the man said good luck after Dante said he wanted to find something have happened to Charlie?

Dante wanted answers and he was persistent to get some.

Franklin sat on the edge of the bed in one of the bedrooms, thinking only one thing.

"Always watches, no eyes." Franklin muttered.

Then a image kept flashing in his mind. A circle with an "x" through put Franklin into a state of silent panic.

"Always watches no eyes,always watches no eyes, always watches no eyes." Franklin muttered over and over again.

Then there was the image of a dark haired woman, crumpled on the floor of a burned was crying, but in the corner was another dark haired this one was in a corner shaking in fear at the woman crying.

"Kate...Kate...Kate please let me go." The shaking woman begged.

Kate gave no reply,only a louder sob.

The shaking woman scooted closer.

The crying turned to a growl and Kate turned her face towards the shaking woman.

The woman scrambled back and continued to shake in fear.

Kate turned her head back and continued to sob mournfully.

Franklin gasped as he was taken out of the memory.

"ALWAYS WATCHES NO EYES!" Franklin screamed.

Dante burst into the room, not three seconds later and kneeled next to Franklin."Franklin snap out of it!"

Franklin let out a loud sob and sniffed.

"I saw something...i saw something!" Franklin said frantically

"What did you see?" Dante asked softly.

"I saw Kate, and another woman."

"You saw Kate?"

"She was crying..."

"She must be captured."

"No... whenever the woman got close... she growled like an animal."

"Who was the woman?"

"I...don't know...she had dark hair...and she was scared."

"That sounds like Lauren!"

"Really, i thought the man said she was dead."

"He must have lied."

"I saw something else too."

"What?"

"A symbol..."

"What symbol?"

Franklin began screaming again and Dante calmed him down.

"What symbol?" Dante repeated.

Franklin took a canister of nail polish on a nearby shelf and drew something with the dark red polish on the carpet.

When Franklin scooted back in fear, Dante looked at what he drew.A circle with an "x" through it.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The House of the Burned

Dante walked from the house holding a flashlight, with Franklin tagging 's hand trembled as he held the gun at his waist. The sun was dipping behind the forested mountains as Dante and Franklin went through a large gate at the back of the house.

A path stretched out before them as Dante turned on the flashlight.

Franklin walked behind him muttering under his breath, "Always watches no eyes."

"Hey stop saying that, you are starting to scare me." Dante said.

"I can't...I try to forget...i really do...but every time i blink...i can see that text as if it is burned under my eyelids."

"Don't worry."

Dante looked at the horizon as the final rays of sunlight dipped behind the valley they were in was draped in instant darkness, as if a black cover was thrown over the stars twinkled and seemed far away.

Then Franklin pointed somewhere to his turned and saw what was left of a house that clearly caught surprisingly the house was still was no door and where there were once windows were boarded up holes.

Dante recognized the house Franklin did too. "This is the house i saw." he said.

"I think so too." Dante replied.

Dante walked forward and Franklin followed after calming Franklin down after another panic attack, did he actually enter the walked forward and turned the beam of light coming from the flashlight revealing any hiding rat.

Then through a burned hole in a wall Dante spotted followed without saying a climbed slowly through the wall careful not to cut himself on the sharp pieces of wood protruding from it.

When Franklin got in too, Dante studied the looked safe but he wouldn't know unless he stepped onto the first step and a loud creaking noise echoed through the burned house.

When Dante continued he found the stairs safe to hastily followed him up the they heard a sharp intake of breath,Dante and Franklin turned in unison to face a dark haired woman sitting on the floor staring at them in confusion, tears streaking down her face.

Franklin stepped back and pointed the revolver at held out his hand to stop Franklin shaking his head at turned back to the woman and asked, "Are you by any chance Lauren?"

The woman nodded wordlessly and stared at them. "Who are you?"

"Well Lauren, i am Dante Ontario and he is Franklin Chesterfield." Dante answered.

"Are you here to save me?"

"Yeah we are, now we need to leave."

Just then there was a bloodcurdling shriek and Lauren's eyes widened in fear, "She is here."


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Farmhouse

Dante pulled Lauren up onto her feet and Franklin held the revolver with a led Lauren out of the house while Franklin looked around wild they got to the bottom of the stairs Dante helped Lauren out of the hole.

Franklin followed and they were about to run out the front door when Lauren said, "No she will get us, we must go through the back."

Dante led her from the front door through a maze of burned they finally found the back door they heard a slam and a crash as if a drunk person were just entering the got to her feet and led them around the house and they ran into the field of tall grass.

"We can't go back to the house we must go over this rock face, we are definitely not going to that horrible park." Lauren gasped.

"Okay, what is over this rock face?" Dante asked.

"A farm we can take shelter at until morning."

"Okay then lets go."

Then another scream sounded behind them as if it was searching for them.

"Come on!" Franklin gasped as he began climbing the rocks.

Dante climbed too and they heard footsteps behind them as if a person were approaching, at a Dante reached the top, something seized his turned to see a woman in a white hoodie trying to pull him down.

"Go," Dante yelled to Lauren and Franklin, "Leave without me!"

Franklin sat there trembling and crying. Then Lauren said, "Oh for christ's sake."

Lauren picked up the revolver and fired a round point blank into the person's blast made the person release him and the body fell clambered up the rock face turned to see the body laying there motionless.

Surprisingly there was no blood pouring from the body, just a large sized turned to Lauren and thanked Dante had forgotten about the helped Franklin get up and they went to the farm.

"Just over this hill here." Lauren explained.

Dante and Franklin studied the revolver.

"Only five bullets left." Franklin said aloud.

"That is more than enough to finish anyone off." Dante answered.

Then a familiar scream sounded into the night.

"Damn it, how is she still alive?" Franklin shouted.

"Quiet!" Lauren whispered.

Dante looked around, but there was no sign of the girl with the hoody.

As they moved on the screams became fainter and they could no longer hear relaxed when the screams were gone but was still muttering "Always watches no eyes" as they went.

Down the hill Dante could see a large a good sized pasture surrounded by a was no actual house to live a big barn

When they got to the bottom of the hill they heard another this time much ,Lauren, and Franklin all ran into the barn.

They hid under a large table and looked out between the gap in the , in the field in front of the barn was the person standing, bent forward hole in it's face was still there.

At this point Dante knew it was a the animalistic woman Franklin Dante realised, it was Kate.

Kate looked around and then ran back up the screams died off in the they didn't move until much after what seemed like hours, Dante rose and said, "I think she's gone."

"I won't be able to sleep knowing that thing is out there." Franklin pointed out.

"Me neither."Dante and Lauren said at the same time.

After hours of staring out into the dark, Franklin and Lauren fell into a light however sat there poised in anticipation for something to happen.

Then out of nowhere, came the sound of if someone was sniffing in looked for the scource of the noise but he couldn't locate across the field down the fence a ways, there was a shack.

And out of that shack came the shape of a very skinny looking boy was twitching and couldn't see any details because it was too he could clearly see a boy.

Dante turned and shook woke instantly and Dante wordlessly pointed through the looked through it and quickly pulled her head saw her expression change from confusion to fear in a second.

Dante pointed at the revolver sitting next to the sleeping Franklin and Lauren Dante reached for the gun, Franklin woke with a start. "What is happ_?"

Dante quickly threw his hand over Franklin's Dante turned in fear he saw that the boy was gone. Dante mouthed to Franklin

_Be quiet!_

But just then Dante saw the shape of the boy looming over the if he had not yet known they were head tilted in a sort of confused manner.

Franklin turned and shouted in fear at the sight of the boy.

"RUN!" Dante yelled.

Lauren,Franklin, and Dante slipped out from under the table as they heard the start of a they burst from the farm the saw the tall man standing at the edge of the field blocking their path up the hill.

They ran to the side and sprinted up the opposite they reached the top Dante turned and saw the boy running after continued to sprint after Lauren and reached a familiar valley and leaped from the top of the rock face.

"We can't go to the house they will find us there." Lauren yelled.

They ran down the path and around a couple construction they could no longer see the boy chasing after them they pulled out his flashlight and shined it path continued uphill.

They continued up the path and approached a dark park a sign that said:

Oakside Park Rules/Regulations

No Hunting

No Fishing

No Motor Vehicles

No Littering

They walked up to the doorway entered the closed and locked the door behind the walked into Oakside only Lauren was filled in on how dangerous it was she lived through it.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Oakside Park

Dante walked down the beaten path when he left the Oakside walked with them shaking in his was looking around as if she expected something.

"What is it?" Dante asked.

"I have been here before, when i was looking for Kate." Lauren replied dryly.

"What happened to her anyway?" Dante asked.

"I don't know, when she went missing i went looking for her and in the end that boy trapped me in the radio tower."

Dante could see that this bothered her significantly.

"What does he actually look like?" Dante asked.

"Who?"

"The boy."

"Well his eyes are sunken, his body looks as if his organs are gone, and he runs really fast."

"Was that him chasing us earlier?"

"...yeah i think so..."

"Hmm..."

"The odd thing though was..." Lauren started, but was interrupted by a loud drumming noise.

The sound vibrated the air, it rang in their ears, it made their blood go sound continued and slowly got closer.

"...oh no..." Lauren gasped

"What is that?" Dante yelled over the sound.

"He is coming!" Franklin yelled.

They ran down the path and found a car awaiting lights were dead but they hoped it would have fuel.

All of a sudden Franklin sprinted away from them and screamed.

"FRANKLIN!" Dante yelled after him.

But Franklin kept running.

"I will start the car, you go find him." Lauren said.

"But i can't leave you here alone." Dante protested.

"Just go, besides..." Lauren said as she held out the revolver.

Dante nodded and took off in the direction Franklin drumming was so loud now that Dante was wincing in pain at every deep beat.

Then without warning a searing headache made him crumple to the turned to bareilly see the man standing over blinding pain made him man got closer and Dante heard in his mind, "You ssshould have left while you had the chance..."

Dante screamed and fell on his back.

Then it stopped as he heard a familiar voice yell, "Get your ass away from him!"

Dante looked up to see Franklin swinging a flaming branch at the man looked at him as if could now see the man's face clearly wasn't much to look at considering he had no face, but his skin was pale white and he was at least seven feet tall.

"Run Dante," Franklin yelled, "Get out of here!"

As Dante stood he saw the man grab Franklin by the screamed and Dante gasped as the tall man's hand morphed like liquid over Franklin's hand was no longer a hand but a elastic tendril wrapping around Franklin's face.

Franklin's muffled screams could be his head was no longer visible there was a squelching another.

But Dante didn't realise what was happening until the physical effects were 's stomach collapsed down, until it was a thin layer of arms and legs thinned until it was only skin over then after minutes of squelching it stopped.

The liquified hand retracted and became a normal looking 's husk of a body fell to the eyes were sightless and the only things left inside were recoiled in terror and sprinted up the he had another blinding headache but Dante dealt with it.

Dante persevered through the searing pain and arrived at the had managed to start Dante got in, Lauren floored the gas before he put on his seat car lurched forward with a burst of speed.

The car roared down the path and rocks tore up the underside of the out of the corner of his eye, something ran from the forest and slammed into the side of the car with the force of a truck.

There was the sound of grinding metal, shattering glass, and screaming from both Dante and car lurched to the side and fell off the side of a steep rock saw the ground getting rapidly closer, and closer, and closer, until everything went black.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Crushed

Dante opened his eyes to see that it was still night, Lauren lay next to him on the was okay besides a cut on her he noticed the drumming was still getting shook Lauren's shoulder and she didn't wake up.

Dante saw a house in the distance and climbed out of the pulled Lauren from the wreckage and put her arm over his shuffled forward with Lauren over his groaned and Dante continued.

When Dante managed to get Lauren up the wooden steps, he noticed the door was set Lauren down and pried the wood slabs from the all of them were off he opened the door.

The room was dark and cobwebs filled every pulled Lauren in and Dante hid her under a went and hid under the bed.

The drumming got closer and it was upon feet walked into the the man's, but the boy's froze in fear and went feet shuffled around and was the sound of an animal moving outside and the feet turned and ran from the house.

Dante didn't move until daylight seeped through the slid out from under the bed to take in the warm heard a groan and Dante went to check on sat up and looked at him.

"Where are we?" Lauren asked.

"I don't know." Dante answered truthfully.

"What happened to Franklin?" Lauren asked after a while.

"He didn't make it." Dante managed.

"He was going mad anyway." Lauren said.

"I could have...helped..."

"There was nothing you could do."

"I...guess..."

"What happened to the car?"

"Destroyed."

"Damn, what about the gun?"

"Probably still in the car."

"Then let's get it."

"We can't..."

"Why?"

The car had caught fire that night and burned.

"The car...caught fire."

"Damn."

Dante was disappointed in himself, could he have grabbed the gun?Maybe he could hung his head.

"Well that leaves one option."

"What?"

"We have to go through the mine."

"Koleman mine?"

"Yeah..."

"Is that bad?"

"You have no idea."

And Lauren looked at him like they were committing suicide together.


End file.
